The Orange Roughy Story.

Orange Roughy or Slimehead.

Belonging to the slimehead family.

Orange Roughy or Slimehead, (Hoplostethus atlanticus), is deep-sea fish belonging to the slimehead family (Trachichthyidae). It is found in waters 3 to 9 °C at a depth of 180 to 1,800 metres in waters of the Western Pacific Ocean, eastern Atlantic Ocean (from Iceland to Morocco ; and Walvis Bay, Namibia, South Africa, Indo-Pacific (off New Zealand and Australia ), and in the Eastern Pacific off Chile.

The Orange Roughy is known for its extraordinary lifespan

The Orange Roughy is known for its extraordinary lifespan of up to 149 years which has been determined by scientific methods. It is very important to deep trawl fisheries. The fish is a bright red brick colour and fades to a yellowish orange after capture.

The Orange Roughy is slow-growing and matures late

The Orange Roughy is slow-growing and matures late. They are subject to overfishing and stocks are rapidly dwindling. Overfishing in the late 1970's off Australia and New Zealand has led to this situation.

Whole Orange Roughy

When caught the fish is headed and gutted and the Orange Roughy trunks are later processed to produce Orange Roughy fillets. The skin is always removed as it contains toxins.

Join the scientists and crew of Ireland's Marine Institute flagship research vessel RV Celtic Explorer on a deepwater mission to film coldwater corals off the Atlantic coast of Ireland and investigate the plight of the Orange Roughy, a long-lived species threatened by overfishing. (Part one of four).